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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27897013">Brothers At Arms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianneRose2016/pseuds/DianneRose2016'>DianneRose2016</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chicago PD (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>People blowing up, Swearing, Violence, flashbacks to torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:14:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,912</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27897013</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianneRose2016/pseuds/DianneRose2016</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jay swore he would never go back overseas. It was the one place in the world he refused to ever step foot in. All of that changes when the Commander General walks into the precinct looking for his help. Only this time Jay isn't the only one having to go into Hell itself. The Intelligence Unit is about to go through their hardest trials that will either make them stronger or destroy them forever. One thing is for certain, they all gain a new level of respect for Jay and a new understanding of the man. The Korangal Valley is not for the weak of heart, but when one of Jay's brothers is trapped and suffering he walks back through the gates of Hell to free him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Brothers At Arms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is going to be set in Season 5 at some point after Halstead goes undercover with the kidnapping crew, but before Voight forces him to go to therapy. He's still having problems, but trying to keep quiet about it. This won't be set in a specific episode, but that should give you a rough idea about mindset.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It started out as just a normal day. They had just finished closing a case and they were getting geared up to head out. It was a Wednesday, which meant they were one day closer to the weekend. With a little luck they would spend the next two days catching up on some paperwork so they could have the weekend off. It had been a couple of weeks since they were able to have a break and not work so much overtime. Jay was the only one in the group happy for all the overtime, it meant he didn't have to sit at home trying not to think. It had been a problem of his ever since he had accidentally shot that little girl, killed that little girl. Jay wished he could say it was the first time his bullet had gone through his target and hit a child, but he couldn't. It wasn't even the first time he has killed a child. Jay had thought he buried those memories long ago, but ever since that day in the back alley he couldn't stop thinking about them. He couldn't stop dreaming about them. He knew he was slipping, he could clearly see the signs, just like he did with Mouse every time he saw his friend since the war. Only this time around Jay didn't have his best friend around to help him through it. He didn't have the woman he loved either. He had Will, but there were things you couldn't tell your brother. Things he wouldn't understand and it would only make him look at Jay like he was a monster. Something Jay wouldn't be able to handle right now. So Jay did the only thing he could do, suffer through it and hope it would go away. As a result his normally very clean apartment was a disaster zone and he was clocking in as many hours as he could just to avoid sleeping. Everything changed when <em>he</em> walked up into the bullpen.</p><p>Commander General Ashwood had always been a man of order and following protocol. He took pride in knowing that he had a clean record and a man of principle. Protocols and policies were put in place to better protect his soldiers, even if that meant that on the occasion you would lose a couple to those policies. It was an acceptable loss in the grand picture. It was not only his job, but his responsibility to think that way. To see the grand picture and know that he was making the right calls. He had a reputation of being a hardass and never deviating away from protocols. So why was a man like him walking into a police station with the Chief of Police to speak with a detective unit? His daughter, more specifically the man that saved her life a year ago when she was kidnapped overseas on a humanitarian mission, Greg Gerwitz. The only thing in this world that would ever make him go against his beliefs was his daughter. He owed Gerwitz everything and he was going to do whatever he could to pay him back.</p><p>Commander General Ashwood headed up to the Intelligence Unit with Chief of Police John Fuller. They had been in discussion for five days on this and they finally had come to an agreement on how to proceed. Commander General Ashwood was coloring way out of the lines on this one, a first for him, but it needed to be done. All he could do now was hope that the reason he was here would agree. The energy in the bullpen instantly tensed at their presence. All eyes went to them and only Jay seemed to recognize him. Jay stood up and saluted them both, which caught the other's attention. Voight came out of his office as Commander General Ashwood spoke.</p><p>"At ease soldier."</p><p>"Chief Fuller, care to fill me in?" Voight said instantly on edge with the presence of an army commander.</p><p>"Let's talk in your office. Detective Halstead, join us." Chief Fuller ordered.</p><p>"Yes Sir." Jay said out of habit, but his mind was already thinking the worst.</p><p>Voight took in the unease on everyone's faces, they didn't like this anymore than he did, but he didn't have a choice. He didn't know anything yet and depending on what he was about to be told would dictate if he could release any of the information to the others. Jay headed into Voight's office and closed the door. He stood back while he allowed the Commander and Chief to sit in the only chairs available as Voight went around to his seat.</p><p>"I'll start by introducing myself. I am Commander General Ashwood with the U.S Army."</p><p>Voight gave a nod and looked slightly at Jay. He knew that there were many different levels in the military, but he wasn't up to date on all the titles. There could be more than one commander general to him. Jay mouthed the word <em>the</em> and that was all Voight needed to know. This guy was at the very top of the food chain.</p><p>"Sergeant Hank Voight, what can I do for you today General?"</p><p>"A situation has come up that I am hoping you and your men would be willing to help me resolve."</p><p>"I'm not sure what you would need the CPD for, but we're always happy to help."</p><p>"We've been in closed discussions for the past five days on how to handle this situation. Initially the upper brass and I refused outright, but Commander General Ashwood is very persuasive." Chief Fuller started.</p><p>"I want to start by saying that any of your team's participation is completely voluntary."</p><p>"Alright, then why are we having this discussion in here and not out there with them?" Voight couldn't help but ask.</p><p>"Because what I am about to tell you is classified. As well, Detective Halstead is the nexus to all of this. If he is not on board there is nothing further I would need to discuss with the rest of the team."</p><p>"Well you certainly have my attention. What can we do for you?"</p><p>"Have you ever heard of the Korangal Valley Sargeant?"</p><p>"I have. Pretty nasty place from what I've read in the paper."</p><p>"It is and I am assuming you are aware that Detective Halstead was there in his military career."</p><p>"I was not aware. His military record is sealed and I've never had a need to dig into it." Voight knew that Halstead had been overseas twice before and he knew Mouse was with him each time. He knew Mouse had been in the Valley and he naturally assumed so was Halstead. But Voight had no idea what Halstead had been allowed to disclose so for now he would play stupid.</p><p>"I did two tours there." Jay said and Voight could hear the slight distant sound to his voice. It was clear just hearing about it was enough to affect him. Voight knew that Halstead had been struggling since he accidently killed that little girl. He was now more worried about what this conversation was about and what it could do to Halstead.</p><p>"Only a handful in history have survived more than one tour in that Province. It is not a place that you would wish to be in. Chief Fuller has informed me that your unit is the best within CPD. I am in need of some help for a rescue."</p><p>"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but can we cut the bullshit? You were Commander General when I was enlisted, you were known to be a hardass. You didn't go against policies or protocol for any reason no matter what it was. You have a whole military at your disposal and only one person to answer to. If you need help on a rescue mission you could have easily given it to a top tier team. You came all the way down here from D.C for a specific reason and my gut is telling me it's for me. So what the hell is going on?" Jay said with a controlled voice, but Voight's trained ear could hear the annoyance and frustration in it. Voight was happy to sit back for now and let Jay handle this. He knew more about this than he did.</p><p>"I am a man of protocol. I have never broken it and up until five days ago I never thought I would. But your friend changed that Detective. Staff Sergeant Gerwitz."</p><p>"Mouse. What happened?" Jay asked with dread filling his entire body.</p><p>"A year ago my daughter was in Africa helping with a humanitarian operation. Her camp was attacked and she was taken hostage. Mouse was down there helping a marine team while his Ranger team was on break. He was running TOC when the call came in over the radio. It was because of him that she was rescued and from that moment on I have been looking for a way to pay him back for it. Five days ago I got word that Mouse's Ranger squad was ambushed in the Valley at the bottom of the mountain. Their bodies were all recovered except for his. Intel has him captured by a radical organization with their base of operations in Satan's Mountain."</p><p>"Shit." Jay softly whispered.</p><p>"I'm assuming I'm missing the part about why you can't just go and get him." Voight said not liking that Mouse had been captured. He didn't seem to do too well with being in the military the last time. It was one of the reasons why Voight didn't want to help him cover for his past crimes. He didn't want to see anything bad happen to him.</p><p>"It's a black spot. No American soldiers are allowed in the area as of two years ago. Too many deaths have come from there so it was banned to keep American soldiers alive. I can't order a rescue mission, but I also can't leave him there either. It is because of him that my daughter is alive and well. Halstead knows the area better than anyone and he is the closest person to Mouse."</p><p>"No offense General, but you better not be suggesting what I think you are suggesting." Voight said with an edge to his voice. There was no way in hell was he going to let Jay go off into a war zone that was so hostile and dangerous the United States government won't even allow anyone to go into it. Voight glanced over at Jay and he could see the pain clear as day in his eyes.</p><p>"Halstead is the only one to have survived that area twice. Twice he has been into the Mountain and twice he was able to come out alive. No only that, he brought his team back. He is the only option I have of getting Gerwitz rescued. There is no one else."</p><p>"No one else? You have a whole military and ex-military members that would probably be chomping at the bit to get back there and serve their Country. You don't need my man."</p><p>"He is the only one who has survived that area. There is no one else. He is our only hope of bringing Gerwitz back home. But it is his choice, completely. I am not about to make anyone go into those mountains unless they wish to and are prepared for it."</p><p>"Is it still the same radicals?" Jay asked.</p><p>"Yes it is. They have grown in numbers, best we can figure they now have close to three thousand members."</p><p>"And this group is?" Voight asked.</p><p>"We refer to them as Devil Radicals, we like our symbolism. They operate like most radicals, they wish to restore their homeland into what they believe was its most vital times. They wish to destroy anything that does not fit within their beliefs of that time. For close to a decade now they have been trying to kill, torture and rape as many US soldiers and civilians that they can get their hands on. Your basic terrorist cell. However, where they differ is how they recruit key members into their organization. They have been known to kidnap American soldiers and condition them into their beliefs. They do this by keeping the soldier completely isolated in a dark room. No windows, no lights, no bed or any comforts. Just a bucket and chains to keep them subdued. They are fed a small amount of broth and a piece of bread once a day along with a cup of water. They slip in a drug called modafinil, that one is within more recent years. The drug keeps a person awake for over forty hours and they have full, or close to it, of mental function. Now, after using it you would need to catch up on the sleep for your body to readjust. These radicals are constantly giving it to the person, not allowing their brain to shut off and sleep. It makes them more susceptible to mental persuasion and conditioning."</p><p>"Why go through all the trouble for a ransom?" Voight asked.</p><p>"Because they aren't looking for a ransom. It's one of the reasons why it's now a black spot. They are taking soldiers and mentally breaking them down to try and get them to see their beliefs. Soldiers have broken from going through it for months. They barely eat, barely get any sleep, the radicals will show videos of women and children being beaten, tortured and raped by what appears to be American soldiers. Eventually one of two things happen. They either die from lack of sleep or they are successfully brainwashed and they join their organization. After ten soldiers were lost to us by this organization the President declared it a black spot."</p><p>"And these animals have Mouse?"</p><p>"They do. It has been five days or six days now. They do not start any of the mental torture until two weeks in when the captive's mind is more open to it. If he is rescued before that timeframe he will recover. Halstead is the only one qualified to take on an operation like this, but he can't do it alone."</p><p>"When the Commander General came to me and informed me of the situation I immediately denied him what he was asking for. After five days of going back and forth I have finally agreed to leave it up to all of you." Chief Fuller said.</p><p>"And what exactly are we deciding?" Voight had no idea where this was going, but he didn't like it. He felt bad for Mouse, he liked the kid, but he was in another country, it wasn't like they could do anything for him.</p><p>"I have proposed that Halstead leads your team on a rescue mission to the Korangal Valley and bring Staff Sergeant Gerwitz back home." Commander General Ashwood stated.</p><p>"No, no there's no way I'm going to let them go anywhere near that place. It's not safe for them. They aren't trained for this at all. I'll go. I'll figure it out when I get there and I'll bring Mouse back. They don't need to be involved." Jay said with strength to his voice. It had been awhile since Voight had heard it in his detective.</p><p>"Like hell you are." Voight said with his own strength right back. There was no way in hell he was going to let one of his detectives go into a war zone all alone. It was a suicide mission.</p><p>"We'll give you both a moment to discuss." Chief Fuller said, as he went and stood up, the General standing with him.</p><p>They both walked out and closed the door behind them. They waited quietly by Jay's desk.</p><p>"Sarg." Jay started, but Voight cut him off.</p><p>"Are you out of your mind? You want to go back there all alone and try to get Mouse back? You're smarter than this Jay. You know it's suicide and you know that you are in no mindset to be doing this. You haven't been right since your bullet hit that little girl. You feel guilty for her death and this is you looking to punish yourself for it, but you have nothing to be guilty over. Your bullet hit an offender shooting at you and innocent people. It went through him, through a door and then into that little girl. She was in a place that she wasn't supposed to be and you had no idea anyone was behind that door or that your bullet would go straight through it. I'm not letting you do this."</p><p>Jay was quiet for a moment and Voight could tell he was working something out in his head. He needed the minture to gather his thoughts and courage for whatever he had to say next. Jay let out a soft sigh as he went and collapsed down into one of the chairs. When he spoke it was in a voice filled with pain, a pain that Voight had never heard on him before.</p><p>"Last time I was there Mouse was with me. We went through boot camp together, then Ranger school and then we got placed on the same battalion. Everyone knew we were best friends, a package deal. We were good, but we were perfect together. We clicked instantly from that first moment we met. It was exactly what we both were looking for. Neither one of us had much of a home life or family to rely on. I have my parents and Will, but Will was off doing his own thing and used to be a completely different person. My mom was dying from cancer and my father is an asshole. Mouse didn't have anyone. He was a ward of the state from the time he was born. He never got adopted, bounced around for eighteen years in different foster homes, some worse than others. We both joined so we could do something good for the country, but also so we would finally find a family and we did with each other. We lost good friends, but we always had each other and that made it bearable.</p><p>We survived two tours over there, in the Valley. That last tour we were three weeks away from shipping out. Three weeks. We were in a convoy with my unit, Mouse and me were in the lead humvee when we hit an IED. It was powerful enough to destroy the humvees, but not kill us. I had the worst injuries, my right leg was broken in two places and a couple of broken ribs. We were all bruised and cut up from it. We woke up chained in this room, the radicals had gotten us. The same radicals that have Mouse again. They made the mistake in keeping us all in the same room and not realising that we were Rangers and not just normal soldiers. We were able to get the chains off and start making our escape. Mouse was helping me walk and the other five surrounded us. We were halfway out when the radicals noticed we were gone. We started taking heavy fire, we weren't going to make it out alive. Jackson, my second in command, he told Mouse to get me out, to not stop or look back. I knew what they were doing and I ordered them to go and leave me. All of them. First time they didn't listen to one of my orders. They all took off towards the radicals and Mouse dragged my ass out of there. A recovery team found their bodies a week later shot all to hell. Mouse and me were given a medical discharge.</p><p>They died so I would live and they made sure Mouse got me out instead of one of the bigger guys because they knew that without Mouse I wouldn't make it. We swore to each other that very first day in bootcamp that we would always bring the other home, no matter what. We would always have the other's back. When we got home Mouse he was dealing with PTSD but he hung on long enough to get my head right. To drag my ass home almost every night from the bars. He slept on my couch for months so he could be there when I woke up screaming. He was going through the same thing but he didn't let it show not until I was in the academy. Then he couldn't hang on anymore and it was my turn to be there for him. We went through hell and we survived, both times. I would rather risk my life and die to go get him, to bring him home. Then sit around here waiting for the call to tell me that I can bury him. I won't survive that. I have to go, even if that means I die out there or I come back and don't have a job. I can't leave him there. I can't do nothing. I have to go."</p><p>It was Voight's turn to take a moment and collect his thoughts. In the five years that Jay had been in his unit, not once did he ever speak about why he was no longer enlisted. Voight had wondered, but he figured it had something to do with his family life or he wanted to make Chicago a better place now. Lots of soldiers got out after a few years and became firefighters, medics or police. They used their training and education for a safer life. He knew that Mouse had PTSD when he first saw him, it didn't take a genius to spot the signs. Voight knew he would hire him, just out of respect for the former soldier that was trying to turn his life around. He knew Platt would see it the same as well. He never expected Mouse to grow into the man he was before he went back over to fight in a war. Voight was proud of him and for almost two years Mouse was a member of their family.</p><p>Voight had always wondered if Jay suffered from PTSD at all and there were moments here and there he thought he saw something, but nothing major. These past few months since the accidental shooting of the little girl Voight finally had his confirmation. Jay had been slipping, not sleeping, working endless hours without pay just to stay awake. He was on edge more, moody. His PTSD was back and it was on the verge of exploding wide open. If Mouse died Voight was truly afraid of what it would do to Jay. If he would end up burying two family members. He knew Jay and Mouse were close that was made very clear from the start. What he didn't know was how close they actually were and that was something Voight could understand very well.</p><p>"Al and I, we met on our first day in the academy. We hit it off almost right away. We would study together and go out together. When we did graduate we ended up in the same precinct and then on the same task forces and units together. When things were going all wrong in our lives we always had each other. We were a constant in the other's life. Now after twenty years I wouldn't know what to do without him. I would gladly give up everything, money, house, my badge, my life to protect him. For him. And he would do the same in a heartbeat for me. People talk about wanting that type of friendship their whole lives. Finding someone that without question is always there for you no matter what. Someone to pull you through the darkest days. I get it Jay. Mouse is your Al. I could order you to stay, but you'll quit. I could tell you not to go, but then I would be a hypocrite, because I would do the same thing if it were Al. You have to go, I get that and I respect that."</p><p>"Thanks Sarg."</p><p>Voight got up and opened the door, giving the others a nod and both the Chief and Commander General headed back into the room. Jay got up out of the chair as Voight closed the door once again.</p><p>"How would any of this work. You must have a plan in mind." Voight asked.</p><p>"That would depend on if Detective Halstead is the only one going over there." Chief Fuller said.</p><p>"Let's say he's not, what's the plan." Voight said.</p><p>"Sarg." Jay started, but once again Voight cut him off.</p><p>"I want all of the information. I hate making decisions without knowing exactly what is going on. And I am not about to let you go in there alone. If nothing else I'm going with you."</p><p>"You have a grandson."</p><p>"That I would hope would one day grow up to be a man like yourself. I am a Sergeant, I only got one job, only one that truly matters, and that is to keep my people safe. To make sure that the cops in my unit go home at night. My job is to protect each and every single one of you out there and I will always do my job whether that is here in Chicago or overseas in some Valley. I'm going with you. There is nothing you could say that would make me change my mind. Now, how would this work? What is the plan?"</p><p>Voight knew this wasn't going to be easy or fun. He knew there was a very good chance he would be coming back in a box. But he refused to let Jay go into a war zone on his own. He refused to be that man. He had worked hard to be a better man and part of that was from what he learnt from Jay. He refused to let him go alone.</p><p>"No one can know the true reason for you going into Afghanistan. I have paperwork for a pilot program that takes local police and gives them the military experience. A select unit would go overseas and shadow a military unit to better their skills and increase a rapport between military and local police. Local police would have a better understanding of their veterans within their ranks and a military unit would shadow a police unit to see what life outside of the armed forces could look like for them. Your unit would be the first to test out this pilot program." The Commander General started.</p><p>"Where do we fly out?" Jay asked, he knew he wouldn't be able to get Voight to change his mind and arguing with him would only waste time. Time Mouse didn't have.</p><p>"You would need to fly down to Virginia Beach. The Marine base. You could fly out there. Our SEAL teams operate out of there and we can fly you in and out without much notice from other soldiers. Most people within the building deal with special ops and have higher classified levels. You would then board a C-17 cargo plane to the Valley. The pilot is a friend of mine. He is one week away from retirement and he likes Gerwitz. He won't say anything. Now, he won't be able to land because that would leave a papertrail and he is not supposed to be there. He has paperwork directing him to Syria with relief aid. You would need to do a jump and it would need to be timed right so it would be dark when you do it. From the jump point you would then hike the rest of the way. You would have a stat phone to get into contact with me. Along with a laptop to help with whatever overwatch you would be able to pick up yourselves. I will have a preset exfil chopper ready and you would need to hit your window to get back home. We would need to discuss when that window is and have it in place."</p><p>"There are IEDs all over the place, is there a detector we could use?" Jay asked.</p><p>"I got a dog for ya. Raider, he has been on the job for a year with a top tier one Seal team. He lost his handler three months ago and has been bouncing around ever since. He is trained for bomb detection, drugs, attack and scent. He's one of the best K9s we have trained. You can use him and trust him. He's also used to jumping. That's about as much as I can give you. You will have access to our weapons cash at base to grab what you need. I will also give you fatigues and packs along with radios and canteens."</p><p>"Will we able to get water over there?" Voight asked.</p><p>"They have streams all over. They don't poison the water because they drink it too. That is the only nice thing you can expect. Sarg, this isn't going to be anything like Chicago. This place, it's the worst that humanity has to offer. Endless firefights, IEDs, suicide bombers, torture, rape. There's a reason it is called Hell on Earth. You won't have seen anything like it and you will never forget it if you do make it back alive."</p><p>"I'm well aware of what I am walking into. I know the risks. I'm not about to let you go in there alone."</p><p>"You will need to listen to him. Follow his orders. He is the only one to go into those mountains and come out alive. He is in charge. Can you handle that?" Commander General Ashwood said.</p><p>"I got it. Not looking to get killed."</p><p>"We need to speak with your unit and see if any of them are willing to go." Chief Fuller said.</p><p>"Ya I'm not real comfortable with any of them going." Voight said.</p><p>"The choice is theirs." Commander General Ashwood said.</p><p>They all made their way out into the bullpen and everyone in it instantly gave them their full attention. They had been wondering what was going on the second the Chief and Commander General walked into the room. Voight went and sat against Jay's desk while Jay went over to the front to address everyone.</p><p>"What's going on?" Antonio asked.</p><p>"This is the Commander General Ashwood. He is the General to the US military, he answers directly to the President. A situation has come up that he needs my help for. Mouse is overseas and has gotten captured. I'm going in to get him out." Jay said.</p><p>"We're gonna need more than that." Al said.</p><p>"Mouse's Ranger unit was attacked, they are all dead and Mouse was captured by radicals. He's in the Korangal Valley, up in the mountains. The military has it labelled as a black spot, no one is allowed to enter the area. The General is coming to us to help get Mouse out. Jay and I are going into the Valley and rescuing Mouse." Voight said.</p><p>"Whoa, wait. You both are going into a place that the US Government is refusing to enter?" Ruzek said shocked and not liking this at all.</p><p>"The Commander General came to me to discuss the option of using a unit within the CPD to go over and retrieve Staff Sergeant Gerwitz. Detective Halstead has agreed to go in and your Sergeant has agreed to go with him. The offer is placed in front of all of you as well." Chief Fuller said.</p><p>"You want us to go over there?" Atwater said shocked as well. This whole situation was crazy.</p><p>"I don't want you there. I can't stress enough that I don't want you to go. I don't want Voight to go, but I can't stop him. None of you should be there. None of you are trained for this. None of you are skilled enough for this or able to handle what happens over there mentally. You are cops, not soldiers and there is a huge difference. There is an seventy percent mortality rate over there. Eighty percent. There is a firefight every single day and sometimes it will last for days. Sleep is a luxury over there. IEDs are everywhere, there is torture and rape. You walk by a village and the whole village is gathered around to watch as some woman or child being tortured and raped and you can't do anything about it, because if you do, your whole unit will be killed. Suicide bombers that strap the bomb to children, babies and blow it up. There are no laws. You shot to kill, even if that target is a child holding a gun. No one comes back the same, no one. None of you should go. There is a reason it is called Hell on Earth and the Valley of Death." Jay said.</p><p>"The choice is yours. I'm going with him. I'm not going to let Jay go into a war zone alone. And staying behind isn't an option for him. Mouse is his family, that makes him mine. You have to do what is best for you, what you can live with. Only you know that answer." Voight said.</p><p>"Well, if you're going I'm going."</p><p>"Al, you have a daughter." Voight said.</p><p>"Ya and you have a grandson, when has that ever changed what we do? You go, I go. It's just that simple. We go through the door together always."</p><p>"This is crazy. So our only options are go on a suicide mission or wait around here to bury our friends? This is insane." Ruzek said.</p><p>"I'm in." Atwater stated.</p><p>"Kev, you have siblings." Burgess said.</p><p>"That's right. And I have raised them to always do the right thing even if it's the hardest thing in the world to do. You always stand up and protect your family and friends. Now I got three brothers going into war to rescue another brother. No way in hell am I staying around here waiting to see who shows up. We're a team, that doesn't change from the streets of Chicago to the streets of Afghanistan or anywhere in between."</p><p>"Then I guess I'm going. You're my partner. I go where you go." Burgess said.</p><p>"I'm going too. I'm not leaving my partner without backup." Hailey stated.</p><p>"You really don't have to. You didn't even know Mouse. Don't get yourself killed or traumatized for me Hailey, really. None of you should even be there." Jay said. The last thing he wanted was for Kim or Hailey to be over there. Seeing those things was something you never got past. He didn't want that for them.</p><p>"It doesn't matter. You are my partner, it's just that simple to me. I'm not naive Jay. I know horrible things happen over there. I know I'm going to see horrible things. I know I won't come back the same. I refuse to sit here and let you go over there and possibly get killed when I could have done something. I'm going."</p><p>"You're quiet Antonio." Voight said.</p><p>Antonio let out a small huff before he spoke. "Kinda dropped a bomb on us. A lot of reasons to stay. A lot of reasons to go. I gotta do what I think will leave me with the least regrets. I got two kids that are counting on me. At the same time, I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to you all and I stayed behind."</p><p>"It's your call man. You got two teenagers, it's different for you." Voight said with understanding in his voice.</p><p>"What about you Adam?" Al asked.</p><p>"This is crazy. I mean it's actually insane. We're actually having a conversation about going into a war zone to rescue someone. I'm waiting for someone to tell me we're being punked right now."</p><p>"This is as real as it gets man." Al said with understanding in his voice.</p><p>Ruzek ran his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth. After a moment he spoke.</p><p>"God dammit. Ya alright I'm in. I'm not going to be the only one staying behind to bury all of your asses."</p><p>"Me too. Let's just hope we all come back from this." Antonio said.</p><p>"Alright, we all go. What do we need to know?" Voight asked.</p><p>"It's been five or six days since capture?" Jay asked Ashwood.</p><p>"Today is day six."</p><p>"The radical group won't start to torture a soldier for two weeks, that gives us eight days to get there and get him out. From the drop it will take roughly three to four days to get there and it's roughly a day to get to the drop. That gives us at most three days wiggle room." Jay said thinking out loud.</p><p>"I need to know what time for exfil."</p><p>"Cut it too close and we risk missing it. Cut it too long and we risk having to hide out and wait for it. I need a day to run training before we even board that plane. They've never had to jump and they need to know how to do a proper village raid. It's March so that won't help either."</p><p>"It's the desert though, shouldn't it be warm?" Burgess asked.</p><p>"During the day it can be, but at night it can get below zero. It's one of the coldest month of the year and sees a lot of rain and snowfall. Rain that can quickly turn to ice. We leave in twenty-four hours. We time it right so that we get to Mouse on the morning of day twelve. Where would exfil be?"</p><p>"Bottom of the mountain there is a clearing. I'll give you the coordinates. It would take a normal healthy person three hours to get there. Once you are an hour away call me on the stat phone and I'll have the pilot land. He will only be able to wait at most an hour for you though so make sure you are close enough to get there within that window."</p><p>"Training site? And what about the dog? It would be good to train with him. It's been awhile since I've worked with a dog."</p><p>"I brought him with me. He's on site right now. Meet in an hour up at the base here. You can run the village and do jumps all day and night if you want. I will have fatigues for you as well."</p><p>"We'll be there."</p><p>"What about food and water? How does that work over there?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"They have fresh water streams that are safe. As for food, think of it like camping. Only bring things that don't expire or require any prep." Jay answered.</p><p>"I can give you some rehydration food as well." Ashwood said.</p><p>"Oh great." Ruzek said sarcastically.</p><p>"It's not going to be fun Ruzek or easy. If you aren't up for it, then stay, because I don't want to hear any bitching when we're there. You all want to go then fine, but know that from this moment until we get back in Chicago, I am in charge. You all answer to me, not Voight. You are soldiers, not cops. You do what I say, when I say it. There is no questioning or hesitation. I am the best shot you have at not coming home in a box. You keep your shit together and you do as you are told. Save your breakdowns for after we get back on that plane. You have to lock your emotions away or you will take all of us down with you. Am I clear?" Jay ordered.</p><p>"We're clear." Antonio said for them all.</p><p>"I'll meet you at the base in an hour."</p><p>"Yes Sir." Jay said.</p><p>Chief Fuller and the Commander General made their way out of the bullpen.</p><p>"As far as anyone will know we are apart of a pilot program that the military are doing with local police. We are going to shadow a military unit overseas. We have an hour, I suggest you go and say goodbye to your loved ones and pack up a few things. We train until it's time for wheels up." Jay said.</p><p>"What should we bring?" Antonio asked.</p><p>"Pack light and smart. We'll have access to their weapons so don't worry about bringing anything like that. Bring some food, a change of clothes, don't put anything personal in it. No photos. If you get killed or captured they will go through your bag and find it. You'll be putting your loved ones at risk."</p><p>"We only got an hour. Let's go." Voight said.</p><p>They all started to gather their things and head out. Once Jay was ready he got into his truck and headed straight for the hospital. Will was on shift and Jay was hoping he wouldn't be too busy. Jay still couldn't believe this was happening. Not only was he going back into the Valley to rescue Mouse, but the team would be there with him. It was a recipe for disaster. He has no idea how he was even going to do this, much less how he was going to keep them alive. They had no idea what they were walking into. They had no idea how bad it would be over there and there was nothing Jay could do to get them prepared for it. It was something they would have to see for themselves. This was all a disaster waiting to happen.</p><p>Jay pulled into Chicago Med and parked his truck. He headed in and saw that it was a busy day in the E.R as usual. He saw that Will wasn't at the main desk so he went over to Maggie to ask for him.</p><p>"Hey Maggie."</p><p>"Hey Jay. Got a case?"</p><p>"No actually. I need to talk to Will."</p><p>"He's busy with patients. One of our docs called in sick today. It's been crazy in here. It's gonna be awhile before he can speak with you." Maggie said apologetically.</p><p>"I know it's busy, but I need to talk to him."</p><p>The tone in Jay's voice caught Maggie's attention. It was filled with pain, he was trying to hide it, but Maggie had an ear for that sort of thing. Something was going on.</p><p>"I'll go get him."</p><p>Jay just gave a nod and watched as Maggie headed off and disappeared into a treatment room. Jay hated that he would have to drop this bomb on Will at work. He knew how important it was for him to be able to focus on his patients, but Jay didn't have a choice. He only had an hour before he would be unavailable. This was his only chance to see Will before he left and he needed to see him. He needed someone to tell him it would be ok. He needed someone to give him a hug and tell him they would be there when he got back. He didn't get that the last two times he went over there and Jay didn't realise how much he needed that until this very moment. He needed his big brother to make it ok. Will came out of the room and looked both worried and frustrated at the interruption. Everything changed when his eyes landed on his brother.</p><p>"Everything ok?" Will asked.</p><p>Jay just shook his head and said no. Gone was the hardened soldier and cop. This was just Jay, his baby brother. A man that had seen some of the worst this world had to offer and dealt with it every day. He didn't need a doctor, he needed his brother.</p><p>"Come on." Will said, as he placed a hand on Jay's back and guided him into the staff room. It was currently empty, he closed the door and pulled down the blinds so they would have complete privacy. "What's going on Jay?"</p><p>"I need you to not freak out, ok?" Jay said with a slight shake in his voice.</p><p>"Ok. Whatever this is we'll figure it out. Talk to me, what's going on?"</p><p>"It's Mouse."</p><p>"Oh Jay, is he ok?"</p><p>There was one thing Will learned very quickly after Jay got back from the war that second time, him and Mouse's connection ran deep. They depended on each other a great deal, some could argue a little unhealthy, but Will had just been happy that Jay had someone he could turn to that would understand what he was going through. Jay had a hard time when Mouse decided to go back into the Rangers. He so desperately wanted him to stay, but he knew he couldn't hold his best friend back. So far nothing bad had happened to Mouse in the past year, but it seemed like his luck had run out.</p><p>"He's in the Korangal Valley. His unit was attacked, they were all killed, but Mouse he was captured by a radical group. He's still there. It's a black spot though, no US soldiers are allowed to go there. This group they wait two weeks before starting to mentally torture their captive. They want to condition and brainwash American soldiers to join them. It's all mental with them. Today is his sixth day there so nothing has been done to him yet, but I don't know if he was injured in the attack on his unit."</p><p>"Ok, but he's alive so how do they get him out if no one is allowed in? Special op?"</p><p>"The President is the one to declare the area a black spot. Anyone in the military goes against it they are risking treason. The Commander General Ashwood, the General to the army, he came to the district with Chief of Police Fuller to speak with me. They want me to go in and get Mouse out. I'm ex-military so I'm not bound by the regulations of black zones. I said I would do it."</p><p>"Jay, you can't go into an active war zone to rescue someone by yourself."</p><p>"I'm not. The team is going with me. Ashwood can't order any military personnel to go, but Mouse rescued his daughter last year when she was captured in Africa. He's refusing to leave Mouse on his own to die. He spoke with Fuller and they agreed to sending in my unit if they agreed. Everyone did, even though they shouldn't. We go in on our own and we get him out."</p><p>"You're serious right now? You are going back to that place that almost destroyed you with no military help. All you'll have is your unit of cops. Jay this is crazy."</p><p>"I know it is. Ok I know. And if it had been anyone else I would never do it, but it's Mouse Will. I can't just leave him. I have no idea how I'm even going to do this. I have no idea how I'm going to get to him and not get my whole team killed. Chances are we're all going to die and I have no idea how to prevent that." Jay said with panic rising in his voice.</p><p>Will went over and placed his hands on Jay's arms as he spoke in a calm voice, but with strength to it.</p><p>"You are not going to die and you can't go in there thinking that you are. People who go into situations believing they are going to die are more likely to die. It makes no sense, but we see it all the time in surgery. Patients who believe with everything in them that they will pull through make it. And patients who believe they are going to die are more likely to die during surgery. If your mind believes it hard enough it will continue to push your body to fight to survive. Listen to me, you are a badass army ranger. You have saved countless lives. You have earned medals for the lives you have rescued over there. You survived two tours in that place. You are strong, brave, intelligent and one hell of a fighter. You got this. You are going to go over there and get Mouse. All of you are going to make it and I will be there to pick you up at the airport when you get back. Then me, you and Mouse will get as drunk as you both want. You can crash at my place and hide out from the world for as long as you need. Do you understand me?"</p><p>"Ya. Ya ok. I've done this before, many times, I can do this again. In and out, one day at a time." Jay's voice was still a little shaky, but it sounded stronger than it had been a minute ago.</p><p>"Walk me through the plan it'll help." Will said, as he went and sat down.</p><p>Jay sat down in a chair as well as he spoke. "I have to be at the base here within an hour for training. They've never jumped from a plane or cleared a village before. And especially not in a hostile area with IEDs all over the place. The General is giving me a dog to help guide our way through. He's trained in bomb detection, drugs, attack and tracking. It'll be a huge help. The dog will be at the base today to run drills. We will run drills for roughly twenty hours and then head out. We have to drive to Virginia Beach to fly out there at a base for Seals. It has a high security clearance so we won't have to worry about any unwanted questions. Once there we'll fly out, it's about twenty hours to reach the drop zone and it will be dark at that point. We'll jump and make the trip up the mountain. Once we get Mouse we'll head for exfil where a chopper will be waiting to take us back to a plane and we'll head back. Everything goes right we'll be on the ground no more than four days and back within six once we leave."</p><p>"So less than a week then. What happens if you can't make it to exfil on time?"</p><p>"We're stuck there until the next set of troops head out. We could be there for weeks on base. Missing exfil is not an option. We can make exfil. I've done it many times before, you always find a way."</p><p>"And you fly out of Virginia in twenty-four hours. That's a fourteen hour drive though."</p><p>"We'll fly out from the base here on a small plane to cut it down. It's a two hour flight. That gives us twenty some odd hours to train."</p><p>"Alright, well I'll be done my shift in six hours. I'm gonna come down there afterwards to see you off. I'll bring some medical supplies too. You guys don't have a medic."</p><p>"I'm the closest we have to one."</p><p>"Good thing you've had to help me when I was in med school. You gonna have a phone?"</p><p>"Stat phone."</p><p>"Ok, so if something happens you can call me and I can talk to you through it."</p><p>"Worst case ya. I'm sorry to drop this on you."</p><p>"You just had this dropped on you. I'd rather be worried with you then for you to be worried on your own. Those days are over between us. I want to know these things. I want to know how it's going over there. You call me whenever you get the chance. I don't care about time difference or what I'm doing here. You call me to check in every day Jay."</p><p>"I will. I promise."</p><p>"Do you need anything?"</p><p>"No I have my go bag packed, I'll pick it up on my way to the base down here. I'll leave your name so they'll let you in to us. The Commander will have fatigues for us to wear and we have complete access to the weapons cash they have. He's giving us some rehydration food and canteens."</p><p>"But no help from above? That's what you guys used to do right? Have someone working satellites for you."</p><p>"He's giving us a laptop so we can do it ourselves. I'm ok at it. Mouse always did it, but it will work in a pinch. Something is better than nothing and when we get to Mouse if he's not too badly injured from the hit he'll be able to do it. We're not officially there, we're not even unofficially there. No matter what happens I'll have to make it work and hope we all make it back."</p><p>"You will. I know you will. If anyone can do this, it's you and your unit. Don't ever doubt yourself. You take it one day at a time until you get back here where you belong."</p><p>"Ya. I gotta get going. I'll see you later after shift."</p><p>"Anything I should bring? Food or something?"</p><p>"Food and coffee would be good, but only if you want. We could always grab something at the mess."</p><p>"I'll bring something by. Try not to piss them all off eh?" Will said with a friendly smile.</p><p>"I'd rather them be ready and pissed then not and happy. It'll be alright."</p><p>Jay stood up and Will did as well. He pulled Jay in for another hug before they had to go their separate ways. Will got back to work and Jay headed off for his apartment to grab what he needed before he would make his way over to the base. It was forty-five minutes later when Jay parked his truck and made his way over to the building. He saw that the others were there and standing outside waiting.</p><p>"Why didn't you go in?" Jay asked once he was close enough.</p><p>"Figured it would be best to wait for you. Not real sure what we're supposed to do." Voight answered.</p><p>Jay gave a nod and grabbed the door and headed in with the others behind him. The others didn't know what the expect, but they were surprised that no one came over to them. There was no guard standing on the inside to make sure no one that wasn't authorized entered. There was the guard at the front gate, but they figured there would be more. The Commander General was there speaking with another man that looked very official.</p><p>"Who is that man?" Voight asked.</p><p>"General Walker, or General Douche as everyone likes to call him. He's a cake eater. Always looking to climb the political ladder. He runs this base and could make it very difficult for us to have access to what we need. The Commander will ensure he plays nice as long as we do."</p><p>"Have you come across him before?" Antonio asked.</p><p>"A few times. He likes me." Jay said with a smirk.</p><p>"Well what's not to like." Antonio said with a teasing smile.</p><p>"Lieutenant Halstead."</p><p>Jay turned his head to see that General Walker had called him. He watched as the General called him over with a finger and it took everything in Jay not to roll his eyes.</p><p>"I'll be right back." Jay said.</p><p>He made his way over and saluted the General with practice ease.</p><p>"Lieutenant, you catch that?" Ruzek said.</p><p>"A little hard to miss." Atwater said.</p><p>"Some soldiers move up in ranking quick. It's all based on performance and how well you can play the political game. Some won't bother with it. Others will play just enough to ensure their team gets what they need." Olinsky said.</p><p>"My money is on Jay being the second one." Upton commented.</p><p>"Excuse me."</p><p>They all turned to see two soldiers approaching them.</p><p>"Can we help you?" Voight asked.</p><p>"Is that Lieutenant Halstead?" The one soldier asked.</p><p>"He's a detective now." Voight said.</p><p>"But he's Jay Halstead, Army Ranger?" The other male soldier asked.</p><p>"Ya." Antonio said not sure why they wanted to know or care.</p><p>"Holy shit." The second man said.</p><p>"I told you it was him. You said he's a detective now?" The first soldier asked.</p><p>"He is. Why the interest?" Voight asked guarded for his man.</p><p>"Nothing bad I swear Sir. He's a legend. I've always wanted to meet him." The first soldier said.</p><p>"A legend? Really?" Ruzek said now very interested in this conversation.</p><p>"He's got a lot of medals and accommodations. But what made him really stand out, he broke the Chicago record for longest shot. And a few other states. Made a kill shot three thousand yards away in a storm with eighty kilometer winds. That was in his first year outta Ranger school." The second soldier said.</p><p>"He's rescued a lot of captured soldiers. His Ranger squad, whenever someone said it couldn't be done, he made it happen. He always got it done. God, I'd give my left nut to go on an op with him." The first soldier said.</p><p>"We had no idea." Voight said.</p><p>"Why are you here? Something happen?" The first soldier asked, his mind clicking in that there were CPD and not soldiers.</p><p>"New pilot program. We're going over to shadow a unit overseas." Voight answered.</p><p>"Must be real new, I've never heard of it." The second soldier commented.</p><p>"We're the first to try it." Antonio said.</p><p>"Well if you are going overseas, you want the Lieutenant on your side. You listen to him and he'll bring you back home safe." The first soldier said.</p><p>"That's the plan." Atwater said.</p><p>"He's top of the line, the best of the best. Trust him and never hesitate when he tells you to do something." The second added with a serious tone.</p><p>"It can be rough out there. One minute everything is quiet and fine and the next it's raining red. A lot different from what it's like here on the streets. Keep your head on a swivel and your eyes open." The first soldier added.</p><p>"We will. Appreciate it." Voight said.</p><p>"Good luck." The second soldier said before they made their way down the hallway.</p><p>"So Halstead is a legend. That's interesting." Burgess said.</p><p>"He never talks about it though. Even when you ask he won't talk about anything. The only time you get anything out of him is if it relates to a case." Ruzek said.</p><p>"It's not easy to talk about. You're gonna find that out for yourself. Rangers, SEALS they have a different way to operate. They keep it all neatly in boxes and up on shelves. It's a balancing game to keep it all neatly put away and they spend every day hoping one of those boxes doesn't open. Terrified of the shelf collapsing and it all floods back. When that happens, that's when you have the ones living on the streets or addicted to anything they can get their hands on. Jay is constantly balancing the boxes. Any reminder and it could tip on over and start the downward spiral." Olinsky said.</p><p>"Then how is he going to be going back into the place that gave him the most boxes?" Burgess asked.</p><p>"Soldiers, their mind is wired differently. They can have active PTSD and still be able to go into a war zone and handle it as if they are walking through a park. That switch in their mind gets flip and everything else fades away until they turn the switch back off. He'll flip the switch and be better than we've ever seen him. Until we get back anyways." Olinsky said.</p><p>"And when we get back?" Antonio asked.</p><p>"Let's just focus on getting back." Voight answered.</p><p>Voight didn't want to think about what Jay could be like once they got back. He didn't want to think about what any of them would be like once they got back. For now they had to focus on getting back. They watched as Jay shook the General's hand before him and the Commander made their way over to them.</p><p>"Everything ok?" Voight asked.</p><p>"We're all good." Jay answered.</p><p>"If you would all follow me I can show you to where you can get changed into fatigues and grab your gear." The Commander said.</p><p>They all followed the Commander and Jay through the base until they reached the storage room. The Commander went over and started to grab some patches while Jay went over to the fatigues and grabbed the sizes they would need. Once he had them he passed them out to the right person before he grabbed some for himself.</p><p>"The boots are right over there. You'll need to change into them too." Jay said. He had already changed into his old boots back at his place.</p><p>The others grabbed a pair and the Commander came over to Jay.</p><p>"You'll be Alpha group. While you are getting changed I'll grab Raider for you. You want jumps first?"</p><p>"Yes Sir. Looking to do it during the day for the first time. We'll have to do some tonight too."</p><p>"I'll get a plane and pilot ready for you. Meet me at the airstrip and I'll have Raider there for you."</p><p>"Yes Sir."</p><p>The Commander went off and Jay turned to the others.</p><p>"Follow me I'll show you where you can change."</p><p>Jay headed out and the others followed him to the change rooms. Burgess and Upton headed into the female side while the others headed into the males.</p><p>"What's the difference in these boots and normal combat boots?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"Army boots have a stronger tread. They are made for hiking mountains covered in mud. They are waterproof, insulated and built to withstand a knife and a fight." Jay answered.</p><p>"Damn." Atwater commented.</p><p>"What's first today?" Antonio asked, as he got changed.</p><p>"Jumps. We need to get a couple in while it's light out. I don't want you doing your first in the dark. The Commander will meet us there with Raider."</p><p>"That's what I don't get. How does the dog do the jump?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"He will be strapped in to me with an oxygen mask on. The dog is used to it."</p><p>"And when we are on the ground?" Atwater asked.</p><p>"He will stay attached to me."</p><p>"Does he know commands in English?" Olinsky asked.</p><p>"All military dogs started being trained with English commands five years ago. Used to be Russian, but that had its own problems with not enough soldiers knowing basic Russian commands."</p><p>"How does the dog know not to listen to someone else?" Atwater asked.</p><p>"Dogs are trained to recognize the military uniform. They won't listen to someone else that gives the command overseas."</p><p>"So the dog will listen to us?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"Yes." Jay said and they could hear the slight annoyance in his voice at being asked these simple questions that seemed obvious to him.</p><p>They stopped talking and just focused on getting dressed. They knew that this was going to be hard on Jay and they didn't want to hound him with questions all at once. They would spread it out and ask him throughout the day. Once they were dressed Voight spoke.</p><p>"Hey, give us a minute."</p><p>The others gave a nod and headed out, leaving Voight and Jay alone.</p><p>"I'm fine Sarg." Jay started.</p><p>"I know you are." Voight started and went and sat down across from Jay as he continued. "Look, you have to flip a switch, block yourself off from everything emotional right now. I get that. I know you need to focus your mind on the mission and nothing else. I can handle the harsher tone to your voice and a lower tolerance for horsing around. You have to be in that old mindset of a soldier to do this mission. I get it. Ruzek and Atwater, their mindset revolves around them having fun. Seeing the lighter side of things to be able to handle the darker side."</p><p>"I get that, but joking around over there will only result in them being killed or getting one of us killed. I don't want them there. I don't want any of you there. It's too dangerous, more so than you could even imagine. I am doing the one thing I swore I would never do again. Go back there and lead a team. I was done with being a leader. With being responsible for people. And here we are. They have to take this seriously or they will know what it feels like to be responsible for a brother's blood on their hands."</p><p>"Jay, they are going into hell for you. Because they all look up to you and respect you to that level. You have been leading them, just unofficially. I know this is hard on you, that it's putting a lot on your mind and you've already been struggling with things after that girl's death. I'm not saying go easy on them, but part of being a leader is letting your guys relax so they can be ready for the bad to come."</p><p>"And they can, once they hit the plane. But I need them serious right now, because they could die from practicing jumping if they don't pay attention. I'm going to do my best to get them back home, but it's on them too. I'm not going to be easy on them, easy will get them killed. If I have to be an asshole to make sure they get back alive, then I will be."</p><p>"So will I. Just remember, they don't want to let you down. They want to make you proud. And remember they aren't military, what seems like common sense to you, won't be to them. Try not to be annoyed by the questions, cause you are gonna have a lot more before the day is done."</p><p>"I know. I'll get my head right."</p><p>"Good, cause we need it out there. You all set?" Voight asked, as he stood up.</p><p>"Ya I'm good to go."</p><p>Jay stood up and they both headed out of the change room. Jay led everyone down to where they would be practicing their jumps. He could see that the Commander General hadn't made it there yet so he figured now would be a good time to address everyone.</p><p>"Alright before we get started, I know this is stressful for all of you. You are going to have to do things you never thought you would have to do. You are going to see things you never should have to see. I know to get us through some tough cases we've joked around and made lite of the situation. I know you need the stress release. But you need to save that for the plane. I need you one hundred percent from now until wheels up. Then you'll have a day to rest and horse around before we jump. I need you one hundred percent right here, right now alright?"</p><p>"We got you Jay." Ruzek said with understanding in his voice.</p><p>"Good. This behind me is a C-17, it is used mostly as a cargo plane, but soldiers will board them with cargo if they are dropping into an area or special ops. Special ops will use the plane as an operation center while on the ground. We will be jumping out of a plane just like this one. When we jump it will be open like it is now. We will go to the edge and then jump out. Each parachute has been checked by a trained soldier to ensure that it will open, if for some reason your chute does not open, you pull the orange cord. That will open your backup. I don't want you to worry about that though. There is less than one percent of a chance that your chute will not open. You are more likely to injury yourself or potentially die from not landing right or opening your chute at the wrong time. When you first jump out of a plane you do not pull the cord. You have to free fall for a little bit to ensure that the suction from the plane does not suck you back in when the chute opens. If you get caught in the wind tunnel that a plane's engine makes you are dead."</p><p>"How long do we free fall for?" Antonio asked.</p><p>"It doesn't have to be that long and it will be a lot shorter than it feels. When we are up there we'll have coms on. I'll give you the ok to pull the cord. We don't have the time to go over multiple jumps for you to just know. When you do jump, you don't actually jump, you hold your arms out to your side and fall forward. You want to stay in that position, it lets the chute open straight up and not on an angle."</p><p>"So like a belly flop without the pool?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"Basically. Now once the chute is open you can guide it by turning your body. I don't recommend you doing it unless you have to. When we land we will be in a valley, there will be trees. You may need to gently guide your chute away from a tree. You will get the chance to try it when we jump. You only need to turn it slightly to make a difference. When you land, this is the most important part, you have to bend your legs. The force of the fall will still carry enough power to break your legs if you land with them straight. You need to make sure your legs are bent, like you are landing from a normal jump. If you can't stop then just lightly run until you can catch yourself. Any questions on that?"</p><p>"Seems straight forward. How many jumps are we gonna do?" Atwater asked.</p><p>"Two right now and then two at night before we take off. When we get there it'll be dark out. Here comes the Commander General with Raider."</p><p>They all turned to see the Command with a dog right beside him. Once the Commander was there he went over and stood next to Jay. The dog started to sniff Jay to get to know his scent.</p><p>"I have all of Raider's gear for you in the bag. I didn't know if you were going to do a jump with him or not. I also have the patches for you."</p><p>"Appreciate it Sir." Jay said, as he took the patches and put them in his pocket for later.</p><p>"Plane is ready for when you are. Chutes are on board and the pilot is ready to take off when you give the word. The practice village is also set up and free. A squad of soldiers have also offered to run the simulation with you."</p><p>"Ok good. We'll do that after. It'll give them a better idea. We're gonna do two jumps and then get geared up for the simulation. Tonight we'll do two more jumps with full gear."</p><p>"Alright. I'll let the squad know that you'll be ready to go in roughly two hours. I'll have them meet you there. You know where the dummy rounds are?"</p><p>"Yes I still remember."</p><p>"Alright, good luck and be safe."</p><p>"Yes Sir."</p><p>The Commander General headed off and Jay turned back to the group.</p><p>"This is Raider, before we get on the plane you all need to let him smell you. If something happens when we are over there, he'll be able to find you."</p><p>The group all came over and let Raider smell them. They petted to let the dog know that they were friendly. Once that was taken care of Jay grabbed the bag and got them onto the plane. He helped them all get their chutes on along with the pilot before they started to take off.</p><p>"How does the dog jump?" Upton asked.</p><p>"He'll be strapped onto the front of my harness in his own with an oxygen mask on. Dogs can't handle the difference in oxygen levels from a jump that high. When we take off you'll be sitting, but once we are higher up you should move around and get used to it. The plane will be level when we jump, but you still need to get used to moving around." Jay said.</p><p>"What do we do when we are on the way there?" Burgess asked.</p><p>"You see over there?" Jay said pointing to the one wall of the plane that had some army green bags hanging in a mesh. "Those are hammocks. They can hook into spots and you can sleep in em. Another bag has some cards and music in it. You'll want to try and sleep as much as you can. We won't have much time for it over there."</p><p>"How hard will it be to sleep?" Antonio asked.</p><p>"On the plane, not too bad. Over there, we'll go a couple of days without sleep and when we do it'll only be an hour or two at a time. We won't be on base, so we'll have no cover. The base down there will still be attacked, but you have a sense of safety in it. We'll be in the wild the whole time."</p><p>"These villages that we'll have to go through, how far apart are they?" Voight asked.</p><p>"It varies. We could go through one and then not another for a day. We could go through five in one day depending on the route. I'll plan it when we are in the air. We'll be going over a lot today and before we jump to make sure you guys all know what is going on and the plan."</p><p>"And it's a twenty hour flight there?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"Roughly. Once in the air we'll have sixteen hours before we'll go over the plan. That will give everyone four hours to prep on the plan and make sure you know it perfectly and any back up plans."</p><p>"What about medical? Or are we hoping that no one gets that injured?" Burgess asked.</p><p>"Will is gonna come by once his shift is over. He's gonna bring some supplies, I'll carry them."</p><p>"Were you a medic in the Rangers?" Upton asked.</p><p>"No, but I've helped Will in the past when he was in school. I also had a medic in my squad, you pick up a few things. Will's number will also be programed into the stat phone so if we get into a situation that I can't handle I'll call him and he can walk me through it. Let's try and not get shot or blown up though."</p><p>"Always a plus." Olinsky said.</p><p>Jay got up and started to move around. He was used to being on a plane, but it had been a while since he had been in one. The others did the same as well and when it was time to jump they all followed Jay over to the doors. Jay was getting Raider strapped onto him and Atwater spoke.</p><p>"He really likes to jump?"</p><p>"Military dogs are trained for years to be able to handle jumps and any situation. They actually really like it."</p><p>"That's wild." Atwater commented.</p><p>"No this is wild. We're gonna jump out of a perfectly good plane. Thousands of feet in the air, we're just gonna jump out." Ruzek said, as this was starting to fully register in his mind.</p><p>"You're not scared are ya?" Olinsky teased.</p><p>"You know Al, I've never been afraid of heights, but that might change in a second when this door opens."</p><p>"Seriously." Atwater agreed.</p><p>"First time is always the worst, it gets better. Just try not to throw up until you hit the ground, otherwise you'll get it right back in your face." Jay said with a smirk.</p><p>"Wait seriously?" Ruzek asked, now freaking out more.</p><p>"Seriously."</p><p>"Why would we throw up?" Antonio asked, now starting to feel a little unsure himself.</p><p>"Can happen with some people. Depends on how strong your stomach is. Do you like roller coasters?"</p><p>"No, hate em." Ruzek answered.</p><p>"I'm not jumping next to you." Was all Jay said.</p><p>"Damn, now I don't want to jump next to you." Atwater said, as he went and moved on the other side of Burgess.</p><p>"What I have to?" Burgess asked.</p><p>"You were engaged to him." Was all Atwater said.</p><p>"Thanks guys. I'm really feeling the love."</p><p>Everyone gave a small chuckle as the door started to come down.</p><p>"Alright here we go. I'm gonna jump first and show you how it's done. You'll also be able to see when I pull my cord. When you see my chute, you pull. One jump at a time and don't jump in the same spot as the guy before you. We want to stager so we don't end up on top of each other. Sarg will tell you who goes next."</p><p>"How far apart do I space it?" Voight asked.</p><p>"Ten seconds will work. One side, the middle, then the other. When you start, you start at the beginning spot all over again, don't do the middle twice."</p><p>"Got it."</p><p>"You ready boy?" Jay said, as he scratched Raider's ears.</p><p>Jay moved up and with practice ease jumped.</p><p>"Holy shit he really did jump." Ruzek said still freaking out about all of this.</p><p>"You want next?" Voight asked.</p><p>"No, not really."</p><p>"I'll go." Al said, as he moved into the right position.</p><p>"Go." Voight said.</p><p>Al followed Jay's form and jumped down. Antonio stepped up next and went into the middle. One by one they all jumped down until it was just Ruzek and Voight up there.</p><p>"You want a push?" Voight asked trying not to smirk.</p><p>"I got this." Ruzek said with very little confidence.</p><p>"Go then."</p><p>Ruzek took a deep breath and then he jumped. Voight went up next and after ten seconds he jumped. They all free fell and when they saw Jay's chute they all pulled theirs. None of them had ever felt something like this before. They could feel the wind pushing against their chest, making it harder to catch their breath, but once the chute had opened they were slowly descending down. The ground was coming faster then they had expected it to. It didn't take long before they could see Jay touching the ground and they all paid attention to how he landed on the ground. One by one they each reached the ground and Jay unhooked Raider as he turned to watch the others land. The second Ruzek touched the ground his stomach flipped for the last time and he started to throw up.</p><p>"Well that was slightly terrifying." Burgess said, as she caught her breath.</p><p>"That was kinda awesome." Antonio said with a big smile.</p><p>"You like that?" Jay said with his own smile.</p><p>"Ya that was something." Atwater agreed.</p><p>"You ok Ruzek?" Al asked.</p><p>"Oh that was terrible." Ruzek said, as he finished throwing up.</p><p>"One down, three more to go." Jay said with a smirk.</p><p>"Oh shit."</p><p>"We're going again?" Upton asked.</p><p>"Once he lands. You doing ok there partner?"</p><p>"I'm fine. That was different, not too sure if I liked it or not, but at least I didn't throw up."</p><p>"Anyone got any questions?" Jay asked.</p><p>"Seems pretty straight forward." Voight said.</p><p>"Landing was harder than I thought." Ruzek said.</p><p>"It can be tricky until you get used to it. You all did it right though."</p><p>They all got ready for the next jump. When the plane landed they loaded up and changed out their chutes for the others ready to go. They spent the next little while doing the next jump and once they were finished Jay got them all in the armory to grab the dummy guns and bullets. Once they had everything they headed over to the outside village raid stimulation. It was a complete village created on base for squads to practice doing raids. It would be the closest thing they had to an actual raid situation. Once there Jay stood facing the others as he spoke.</p><p>"Alright, behind me is the village simulation. It is built like most villages overseas. We will have a squad coming down in just a few minutes, they will be the targets and help make it a more realistic situation. A few things to cover first. You all now have coms on, you need to get used to using them. We will do a few simulations where we have to break up and we'll need to use the coms. I will go over the protocol for them in a minute. Second thing you need to know, those guns are real and what we will be using over there. The bullets are dummy bullets, they will stick to your clothes and skin so shoot as you normally do. One more thing we need to cover before we can get started. From this point forward no names. We have been given Alpha group, you will be a given a number that will reflect seniority. From this point forward you need to go by that number. When we are over there, if they get your name they can find you and your family. You need to refer to everyone by their number from this point forward. I am Alpha one. Sarg, Alpha two. Dawson Alpha three. Al Alpha four. Hailey Alpha five. Burgess Alpha six. Atwater Alpha seven and Ruzek Alpha eight. And before you get defensive, only the first three matter, after that it was just seniority on the job. Any questions on that?"</p><p>"So when we need to talk to one of us, we say their number?" Burgess asked.</p><p>"I'll go over how you say it. I'll make sure you get in lots of practice with it. Everyone needs to have a partner and you need eyes on your partner at all times. There will also be times where we'll have to split up into two groups. Alpha two and four are partners. You both will also be the ones to lead a second group when the time comes. Alpha three, you will be partnered with me. We will lead the main group. Alpha six and seven you both are partners and then Alpha five and eight will be partners. When we do split into two groups Alpha five and seven will be with us and Alpha six and seven will be with Alpha two and four. Now, if I need to get in touch with Alpha three I will use the com and say Alpha one to Alpha three. Alpha three will then say, Alpha three go ahead Alpha one. You have to say your number and acknowledge the number speaking back or you will not get a response. If I just said Alpha three, he doesn't know if someone has a gun to my head and is looking to lure him over. If you don't hear it the right way, you don't respond. Got it?"</p><p>"What if we need more than one person?" Voight asked.</p><p>"If you need to reach more than one you say their numbers. If you need to speak to everyone you say Alpha two to all Alpha elements. That lets everyone know they need to respond so they can hear what you have to say. Anyone can respond as long as you use the right protocol."</p><p>"That's all we need to know for coms?" Atwater asked.</p><p>"That's it. It's pretty simple and you'll get lots of practice today. We'll do a dry run without the other squad in the village to get a couple of protocols down, but it's pretty simple. And later we will do more rounds with all of the gear on and packs so you can get used to moving around with the added weight. We good on that?"</p><p>When no one said anything Jay spoke again. "Ok, let's get in the right formation. Alpha two goes next to me and we will form two lines in those groups I told you about. Make sure you are behind your partner."</p><p>Everyone moved to line up right and once they were ready Jay started and they all followed. He took them down the first alley and then stopped.</p><p>"You want to try and talk as little as possible. You never know who might be around a corner. When you come to a doorway or opening of an alley the two in the front will look at each other, nod their heads and their riffle. Only when both indicate that their way is clear do you move. Now sometimes this is where you will need to split into the two groups, but for now we'll keep going."</p><p>Jay looked at Voight and they both nodded and signalled with their rifles. Jay then took them through a house, showing them how to clear it and then once he left the door he made sure everyone was out and in a line before he stopped.</p><p>"Ok, when we are going like this it could be dark, we could be obstructed by dust or we could lose someone. To make sure everyone is still with the group the first person will go to the side facing the direction that the group is not going in, like this." Jay said, as he pointed his gun in the opposite side of the street. "In this scenario Alpha seven is the last man in line so when he passes me he will place his hand on my soldier and say last man. That let's me know it's clear to move. The next person who is in the front will do the same as I am and I will then be the last man. Questions?"</p><p>"So we do that every time we clear through a house?" Ruzek asked.</p><p>"Every house, every alley, especially when we split. It's a lot easier to grab someone than you think."</p><p>They continued on following what Jay had said until they reached the end of the village. Now it was time for them to do it for real with the other squad working as the target squad.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>Will walked over to the table that was set up just outside of the stimulation village. He had brought coffee for everyone and ten pizzas for them all. He knew they would be hungry after running raids for hours. He also had a fully stocked medical bag that he normally used. He was going to make sure Jay had what he needed while they were over there. It was ten minutes later when he saw both teams coming out of the village. Will waved at them and they started to head over. The other team keeping back.</p><p>"I got coffee and pizza for everyone!" Will called out to the other team.</p><p>The other team started to head over and Jay gave Will a smile.</p><p>"Hey, thanks man."</p><p>"It's no problem. When you said you were working with another squad, I figured it was the least I could do. Cream, milk and sugar are in the bag. Coffees are all black." Will said to the others.</p><p>Everyone grabbed a coffee and a slice of pizza. Some sitting down while others stood.</p><p>"Will thanks man. I'm starving." Rusak said.</p><p>"Hey it's no problem."</p><p>"How was work?" Jay asked.</p><p>"It was fine. How has it been going?"</p><p>"Not too bad. They are catching on pretty quick. Now it's just a matter of doing it a whole bunch of times."</p><p>"How are you doing?"</p><p>"I'm trying not to think about it. I just want to focus on what needs to be done and worry about the rest when we get back."</p><p>"That's all you can do. I brought you my kit and it's fully stocked with everything you should need. Hopefully you won't need it."</p><p>"Thanks. When I get the stat phone I'll program your number into it. I'll call once a day to check in, but I make no promises about what time it will be."</p><p>"No it's fine. I've told Goodwin that you were being called away for a week and I needed to be able to have access to my phone. She wanted to ask questions, but she understood that I couldn't talk about it. She's going to keep me out of the O.R until you get back. Is there anything I can do to help you guys?"</p><p>"Naw you've done enough. They really needed the coffee and food. After a little break we'll get back to it. I have to go over how to handle suicide bombers and we're gonna do some different situations so they won't be going in too green. There's only so much prep you can do though. There's no telling what could happen over there."</p><p>"Don't stress over it. All you can do is focus on what is happening in that moment, don't stress over what could happen. You'll drive yourself crazy doing that. You need to take some time, drink some coffee and eat something. Then focus on the next steps to cover."</p><p>"I know, I know."</p><p>"Come on brother." Will said, as he placed his hand on Jay's shoulder and guided him back over to the others.</p><p>They spent the rest of their time after dinner running through raid simulations and then doing two more jumps that night. When it was finally time to load up on the plane to head to Virginia Beach everyone was exhausted and looking to get some rest and eventually sleep. They had to get to Virginia Beach first though and that was a two hour flight. Jay had been able to get the laptop and stat phone from the Commander General who was also coming onto the plane to ensure they got off ok in Virginia Beach. They were all carrying their packs and they were feeling the weight of them. Jay knew it was going to be a hard week on the others, but he was hoping they would be able to make it through. He would have to make sure he planned in enough breaks to give them the chance to rest. He would work that all out on the second plane after getting some sleep first. He had a map of the area with him as well. Jay currently had Raider on a leash attached to his belt as the others loaded up he turned to his brother.</p><p>"I'll see you in a week."</p><p>"You're damn right you will." Will said determined enough for the both of them.</p><p>Will pulled Jay in for a hug and Jay was more than happy to return it.</p><p>"I love you." Will said.</p><p>"I love you too."</p><p>After another hard squeeze Will pulled back.</p><p>"You call me."</p><p>"I promise. Try not to stress over me too much. I don't want you distracted and getting hurt or losing a patient. I'll be alright."</p><p>"You just come back to me. Come back home. We'll deal with everything afterwards. Just come back alright?"</p><p>"I'll do everything I can to make that happen. You just keep the beer cold."</p><p>"Always, same as the whiskey."</p><p>"Definitely gonna need that. I gotta go."</p><p>"I know. Go be a badass soldier. I'll be right here when you get back."</p><p>Will pulled Jay in for one more hug before releasing him.</p><p>"See ya."</p><p>"See ya baby brother." Will said with a smirk.</p><p>Jay gave a small smile as he turned and headed for the plane. Will stood back and watched as the plane was loaded and took off for the sky. He was praying with everything in him that this would not be the last time he laid eyes on his brother. He didn't care what happened when Jay got back he would be there for him and make sure he got through it all. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes like he had in the past. He would be there for both Jay and Mouse no matter what.</p><p>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX</p><p>When they finally landed in Virginia Beach at the military base they were instantly guided over to the C-17 they would be taking. Everyone was very interested in taking off so they could sleep for a good six or eight hours. At the same time though it would be kicking in soon how they were going to be jumping into a war zone to go into a territory where the U.S government had deemed it too dangerous. They were being asked to do the impossible and none of them knew if they would be coming back alive or not. All they could really do at this point was hope and focus on what needed to be done. Take it one day at a time.</p><p>"Remember your exfil window. You have to hit it or you'll be stuck there. If you come into any problems call me. I've programed my number into the stat phone it's under speed dial one. Call me if something comes up or you need help. I'll do everything I can on my end. But remember for the most part you'll be on your own."</p><p>"Yes Sir. I'll let you know if anything happens. I appreciate everything you've done for us."</p><p>"You are the ones doing me the huge favor and I appreciate it. Come back alive, all of you."</p><p>"We'll do everything we can to make sure that happens Commander." Voight said.</p><p>"The pilot will be ready for take off. Go on in and get settled. I'll see you all in a week. Good luck."</p><p>"Thank-you Sir." Jay said.</p><p>They all headed in and the door closed up behind them. The others couldn't believe how huge the plane was. They knew it was big from the outside, but to be in it was something different.</p><p>"We need to get the hammocks set up first. You can put your bags on the side behind the mesh. During take off we'll need to be strapped in to one of the seats until we hit altitude and then we can get some sleep." Jay said.</p><p>They all took his lead and put their bags down before going over to the hammocks. Jay showed them how to they clicked in and once they were all set they went and sat down for take off. It was ten minutes later when they felt the plane starting to go down the runway and Jay could see some of them were getting nervous now. Jay knew that once they were in the air they would be too tired to worry about anything until they got some sleep. Once they hit altitude Jay removed his strap and the others followed suit.</p><p>"Alright, we're clear. We got twenty hours ahead of us so get some sleep. I'll wake you up in sixteen hours if you aren't up."</p><p>Jay made his way over to his hammock with Raider following behind him.</p><p>"You heard him. Rack out." Voight said, as he stood as well.</p><p>They all made their way over to their hammocks, getting ready to get some serious sleep. They had no idea when the next time they would be able to get any sleep so they were all going to take advantage of it and try to sleep as much as possible. Within twenty hours they would be jumping into the face of Hell and there was no telling what demons were laying in wait for them.</p>
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